Skeletons, Snow and Sneaky Devils
by YOLOtrash
Summary: (Underswap) Muffet finds two children outside her bakery. Instantly she feels a motherly attachment to the two. But what happens when bad memories start to resurface and taint the new life Muffet has planned out for them? Rated T for safety.
1. The Saga Begins

**_This is based off an amazing story called "Hi Hungry, I'm Dad" by kaybdrabbles. Please check out her account and story!_**

 ** _Also, this is my interpretation of Underswap so don't get mad if it's not what you're used to._**

 ** _Suggestions are welcome and the update schedule will be erratic. Enjoy!_**

Muffet sighed in defeat as her last customer skipped out the door with baked goods in hand. Normally, she enjoyed serving her patrons and baking for the masses, but today was one of her unusual off-days. She had been waiting impatiently all day for the bakery to close so she could go upstairs and lay on her couch. Now that the day was done, however, she felt too tired to drag herself home.

With a grunt she collapsed on a stool and closed her eyes, intending to have a nice long sleep...

A crash awoke her from her blissful nap. Jumping up, she quickly checked the time before rushing to the source of the noise. _12:00? Who could be awake at this hour?_ She thought to herself as she tip toed toward the back door. Wrapping her many arms around her body, she peeked her head outside, trying to be perfectly silent.

The sight that greeted her broke her heart. Rooting through the garbage was a skeleton boy who couldn't have been over the age of 10. He was wearing a tattered hoodie barely recognizable as orange and well-worn sneakers that should have been replaced decades ago. Beside him another skeleton sat trembling, a disgusting threadbare blanket draped over his shoulders. To make matters worse, freezing winds had started sweeping across the barren snow-covered landscape that is Snowdin.

Immediately one of Muffet's numerous appendages flew to her mouth to stifle a gasp of surprise. Her heart went out to the freezing children searching for food through her garbages. Not knowing what else to do, she crouched down and held out a welcoming hand to the small skeletons.

The one in a blanket yet out a small yelp of surprise as Muffet came into view causing the orange one to tumble into the dumpster he had been searching through. Directly after yelping, the blanketed monster broke into a horrible coughing fit and dropped his blanket as spasms racked his frail body exposing a blue t-shirt and short pants that went down just below his knees. He collapsed into the snow and continued to cough for a second before gasping for air. His suddering breaths were painfully loud as the other skeleton boosted himself over the edge of a dumpster and rushed to his side.

With tears in his eyes, the orange skeleton looked over at Muffet, seeing her for the first time. Not wanting to upset the young monsters, she had only sat in stunned silence as the scene played out before her. Holding out her hand once again, she offered it to the young skeleton and said softly, "Do you need food? Come inside, I can help." The blue skeleton grabbed onto the other's arm and looked at him with pleading eyes. The other's eyes darted from the blue skeleton to Muffet before struggling to his feet, the blue one in tow.

Muffet lead the way into her warm bakery and made her way into the kitchen. A couple spiders were hanging around so she shared her dilemma and they instantly sprang into work. She left the spiders to their jobs and went back into the main part of the bakery. The blue skeleton was huddled in a ball on the floor, his blanket hiding him from view. The orange skeleton had his face glued to the glass of Muffet's display case, drooling over the baked goods inside. The second Muffet reentered the room, he ran over to the blanketed skeleton, protectively covering him with his body.

Muffet sat down on the floor across from the children. She decided to start with something simple. "Are you cold? I can get you another blanket if you want." The orange skeleton slowly nodded and followed her every move with his eyelights as she slowly walked into the back room for her stash of fuzzy blankets. She made sure to always have some handy just in case something went wrong with the heating in her store. Grabbing three, she walked back to the boys who hadn't moved an inch. The orange one cautiously held out his hand, accepting the warm blankets. He wrapped himself in one and the unresponsive monster in two. It was only then that Muffet noticed the violent shivering of the blue skeleton. She vowed to get some medicine for him as soon as possible and a doctor tomorrow.

"...Thank you." A gravelly voice spoke up. Muffet turned in mild surprise to the orange skeleton, who was facing her boldly and looking her straight in the eye. His eyelights glinted with a determinination she had only seen in humans and that put her off a little. Slightly uncomfortable, Muffet smiled and laughed.

"Ahuhuhu~! No problem dearie. Is there anything else you would like?"

"...Well... Some food might be nice." He looked past her to the display case and a look of longing played across his face. Right on cue, the two spiders rushed out of the kitchen carrying steaming bowls of soup on each of their heads. They carefully set them down in front of the skeletons and scurried back to the kitchen as Muffet gave them a nod of appreciation. The orange skeleton's eyelights sparkled and he grabbed the spoon eagerly. The blanketed skeleton didn't stir. Noticing this, the orange monster gently shook his shoulder, encouraging him to eat. Finally, the unresponsive child sat up and slowly began to eat, not even close to matching the fervour with which the other shoveled his food into his mouth.

After the initial excitement over the food that left Muffet wondering how long ago it had been sonce their last meal, the orange skeleton began to talk. "I'm Papyrus and this is my brother Sans." He said, motioning to the other skeleton laying on the floor. "It's funny 'cause usually I'm the lazy one. Sans is just a little sick right now..." He continued with a worried look at his brother, "But he's getting better!" Suddenly another coughing fit began from the mound of blankets on the floor. Muffet hurriedly stood up and rushed to the medicne cabinet in the staff bathroom. She had stocked it just in case but had never used it before. Atleast now it was coming in handy.

Wasting no time, she rushed back to the skeleton brothers. Carefully, she sidled up to Sans, conscious of how Papyrus was eyeing her warily. "What're you doing?" He said, glancing at the bottle of cough syrup in her hands.

"It's okay dearie, he just needs to drink some to get better." She soothed. He gave a slow nod and allowed her to sit beside Sans and work a teaspoon of cough syrup into his mouth. He barely noticed and when she looked into his face, his eyelights seemed strangely dim. She sat back and studied his face but he seemed to be stuck in a daze that prevented him from joining the real world.

"So, where did you come from?" She asked. Muffet was anxious to know what parents would do this to their children. She wanted nothing more than to stick those so-called parents in a cell deep beneath the Queen's castle so they could never see the light of day again.

"From the shiny place." Papyrus answered with an expressionless face. Muffet gave him a puzzled glance but he refused to elaborate.

"O-o-kay... What about parents? Do you have any parents?" A shadow crossed Papyrus's face before he gave an ominous shake of the head. Even more confused Muffet sighed and relented with the questions. "Well then! Let's get you two set up in bed." She smiled and scooped Sans up in her arms and walked to the upstairs of her shop with Papyrus following closely behind.

The whole second level was Muffet's self-proclaimed house. She had a small living room complete with a T.V. and couch and a small adjoining room dominated by a queen sized bed and looming wardrobe. The couch could be pulled out to create a bed in case of company and extra chairs and fold up table were hidden away in a closet. She plopped Sans into a small rocking chair and proceeded to unfold the hidden bed. Papyrus stood by and watched uneasily.

Muffet was very surprised at how trusting Papyrus was and watched him from the corner of her eye. Usually kids from the street wouldn't even come close to any adult for fear of mistreatment or being stuck in an orphanage. Papyrus, however, was infinitely more trusting than any street-dweller she had seen, and that worried her more than it should have. Call her crazy, but she had a wierd feeling about those two.

After she had set up the bed complete eith sheets and pillows, she bundled up Sans and gently placed him down between the sheets. Papyrus quietly slipped into bed beside his brother who was already fast asleep. Muffet turned off the lights and tip toed over to her bed. She left her dim nightlight on and half opened her door. Quickly changing into her pajamas and cuddling between the sheets she fell into a fitful sleep at 12:42 am.

Muffet woke up suddenly. She glanced over at her clock. _3:00?_ Why had she woken up so early? She stretched and looked over to her wardrobe...

And jumped out of her skin.

A figure stood there shrouded in darkness, a formless shape standing by her bed. After the initial shock, she sighed in relief. "Papyrus? Is that you?" She whispered.

"NO." A weak but authoritive voice answered. Muffet squinted in the dark to better see the skeleton wrapped in blankets. Before the realization hit her, he spoke up again. "I'M SANS." He erupted in coughs, but they were nowhere near as bad as they were before. "I WOULD LIKE TO APOLIGIZE FOR NOT RESPONDING TO YOUR GRACIOUS CARE. I MUST ADMIT I WAS NOT... ALL THERE." He looked to the ground

"Oh no! It's no problem at all. I don't hold anything against you honey." Muffet soothed. "How are you feeling?"

"WIERD... AND... SORT OF QUEASY? IS THAT POSSIBLE FOR A SKELETON? ALSO, WHEN I COUGH IT HURTS."

"Well, your sickness has improved so how about you accompany me downstairs to grab some cough syrup." At the mention of cough syrup Sans pulled a face and groaned. "Ahuhuhu~ It's not that bad dearie!" Muffet giggled. "Besides, it'll help you feel better." Sans slowly nodded and followed Muffet out of her bedroom.

As they snuck past the bed, Muffet saw Papyrus immersed in sheets and snoring peacefully. She smiled before making her way downstairs. Sans stifled a cough and trotted down the stairs to the main room. He looked around the bakery before boosting homself up on the tallest chair he could find. It was easily twice his size but he pulled himself up like it was nothing. "Are you sure you dont want a smaller chair dear?" Muffet asked politely.

"NOPE!" Sans answered confidently. "THE MAGNIFICENT SANS IS PERFECTLY FINE." After a pause he smiled shyly. "ALSO, IT'S NICE TO BE TALL FOR ONCE." Muffet had noticed Sans's unusual lack of hieght. Well, whatever floats his boat. She hurried over to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom to grab the cough syrup.

In comparison to Sans, Papyrus was a wary street kid. Sans was even more trusting and friendly than his brother which worried her. They were not like normal street-wise orphans. If someone else had picked them up before her, someone bad, she didn't want to know what could have happened.

Grabbing the teaspoon and cougb syrup, she moved back to the main room only to see Sans wiping tears off his skull. Surprised, she rushed over and hugged him without thinking. Sans stiffened but slowly relaxed at the friendly gesture. Sobbing, he squeezed Muffet's middle. After a minute or two, Muffet softly pulled away and stroked his skull as Sans sniffled pitifully.

"Are you okay honey?" She cooed. Sans started to nod but began to furiously shake his head no instead. "Careful, you're going to give yourself a headache!" Muffet chided. "Now, can you tell me what's wrong?"

"THE REAL REASON I WOKE YOU UP IS NOT MY SICKNESS..." Sans trailed off. Muffet tilted her head inquisitively and Sans bowed hiss head and spoke fast, "I HAD A NIGHTMARE AND DIDN'T WAN'T TO WAKE BROTHER BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE I WAS AND THOUGHT THAT IT WAS JUST ANOTHER EXPERIMENT TO TEST OUR REACTIONS AND STARTED TO GET SCARED TO I WENT OVER TO YOUR ROOM AND YOU WERE THERE SO I KNEW IT WASN'T A TRICK BUT I COULDN'T GO BACK TO BED AND I WAS REALLY SORE SO I JUST STOOD THERE AND THEN YOU WOKE UP AND..." He stopped for a breath but inmedietly burst into tears again.

Muffet could sense the child's fragile state so she didn't pry, but one aspect of Sans's speech startled her the most. She didn't know entirely what he meant by 'experiment' but if she ever found who experimented on these children then...

There would be no mercy.


	2. A Recipe for Disaster

Muffet groaned as she climbed out of bed. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so sore. Thankfully, today was Sunday, so she didn't have to open her bakery for business at all today. With a big yawn, she headed out of her room and started at the sight that met her.

Two skeleton children were curled up next to each other on the couch-bed. She stared dumbly at the two until the details form last night caught up to her. _Of course... Sans and Papyrus! How could I forget?_ She silently admonished herself as she crept downstairs. The kitchen was dead silent when she finally managed to make her way down. Her spider staff had the day off today so she had the whole place to herself! She got out a pan and started the stove. Without a doubt, she knew that she was making omelets today. Her stomach did that to her often. It just became dead set on a certain meal and wouldn't be satisfied with anything else. Whirling around the kitchen in only pajamas and bare feet made her feel free and alive. Her mind was enveloped in only food making, her attention never wavering. That's why she didn't notice the inquisitive visitor standing in the doorway until he broke into a coughing fit. Muffet gave a slight jump and pulled away from the now sizzling omelets.

"Oh Sans! I didn't notice you there! How are you feeling today honey?" Muffet said as she turned back to the omelets which were seconds away from being done.

"MUCH BETTER! THANK YOU KIND SPIDER MONSTER! ...UM.. MAY I ASK WHAT YOU'RE DOING THERE?" He asked, peering over her shoulder to see the plated omelets. "IT SMELLS VERY GOOD!" He added quickly.

Muffet smiled warmly. "Have you ever had omelets before?"

"NO?"

"Well! I'm sure you will enjoy them very much!" Muffet bent down and handed him a plate. "Carry this carefully over to a table okay?"

Sans beamed down at the plate. "I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS WILL DO MY VERY BEST!" He marched off towards a table set in the corner of the kitchen. Sans acted as if carrying the plate was a most important mission and he absolutely could not fail. Muffet's smile grew wider with each tiny stomp as he placed the plate on the table and settled himself in a chair. He was too adorable for his own good. She carried her plate and drifted over toward the table too but not before grabbing some cutlery and an extra two chairs for her and Papyrus's use. She sat down and looked over at Sans who was shoveling his food into his mouth using his fingers.

"Hold up a minute! You forgot your cutlery." Muffet laughed and handed Sans a fork. He looked at it for a moment then looked back up at her, obviously puzzled.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Sans questioned as he awkwardly gripped the fork by the handle.

"It's a fork dear, don't you know what a fork is?" A jolt of concern raced through Muffet's body as she gazed down at the poor skeleton sitting across from her.

"UM, NO?" He asked like it was a question, as if he was scared to say the wrong thing. Muffet's fingers darted to her mouth as a wave of sympathy crashed over her. How did he not know what a fork was? What were his living conditions beforehand? If he didn't know what a fork was, did he ever have parents who loved him? Who taught him the basics of life and cared for him? The distinct pressure of wrong hit her again like it had last night when Sans had spoken of experiments. She had to get to the bottom of this. However, first things first, time for Muffet to become a teacher. She grabbed the fork in front of her, demonstrating the proper way to pick it up. He enthusiastically copied, his face all smiles.

xxxx

Papyrus blinked blearily as he slowly came to consciousness. This wasn't the alley... _No.. oh no... it's another one of those experiments again! Why does he do this? It's so unfair... I can't do this anymore not again, NOT AGAIN!_

He was so entangled in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that he was screaming until it was too late. Then, he couldn't stop. Terror settled over him like a heavy blanket, come to muffle any hope he had ever had for a new life. He gripped his skull with his hands, bony fingertips carving tiny furrows into his forehead. Nothing was ever going to get better, it would just continue to get worse, it always had.

xxxx

Muffet had heard the screaming the second it started. Her hyper sensitive ears caught the faint strains of terror and despair tainting the blood curdling shriek. However, even though she picked up on it faster than a normal monster, Sans seemed to know the scream was going to happen before it actually did. She had been teaching him how to make omelets because he had picked up on the cutlery quite nicely. He was a fast and avid learner so she went straight to the harder material second. They were right in the middle of cracking eggs, which Sans especially enjoyed, when the skeleton grabbed his shirt, as if clutching a heart that wasn't actually there. A look of concern grew on his face before he rushed out of the room. Muffet had raced after him of course, curious but also worried. They had just reached the stairs when the screams began. Sans hesitated a moment before dashing up the stairs, taking them two at a time which was impressive for a monster of his height. Not far behind was Muffet, who was getting more worried by the second.

As she saw the scene being played out around her, she gasped. Papyrus was curled up in a little ball on the pull out bed, scratching holes into his skull. Even though Sans and Muffet had burst into the room with no effort to hide their arrival, he didn't even acknowledge their existence. The screaming continued as if it was a deterrent for whatever had hurt this poor boy. Muffet looked around the room, expecting to see someone, anyone. Some monster that could have scared a kid like that. There was no one there, though, and Papyrus kept on screaming with no signs of stopping.

Sans crept up to the bed while Muffet was hesitating and slowly crawled up. He settled himself down beside Papyrus and began tracing soft circles onto his back with the palm of his hand. Gradually, the screaming died down into a whimper as Papyrus cuddled next to Sans. The second Papyrus calmed down, Sans moved his hand up to Papyrus's head and rubbed circles there too. It broke Muffet's heart to see Sans comfort his brother as a parent would. Their movements seemed methodical and rehearsed, as if they had done this song and dance a million times before. Her soul ached for the two who had obviously never had a mother or father figure in their lives. They had had to learn how to care for each other and love one another like a parent should. She had never felt this way before in all her years. She wanted nothing more then to be the mother they had never had. To love them like they truly deserved and keep them safe from the cruel world for as long as she could. So that's why, without thinking, she sat down on the bed beside Sans and reached over to give Papyrus a loving pat.

An arm shot out and gripped hers with such ferocity and strength she cried out.

Muffet looked down to see Sans glaring at her. His eyelights were completely gone and his grip tightened with every passing moment. She twisted and struggled, trying to break contact before the contact broke her. She reached over with her other five arms and pried at the unresponsive fingers which were constricting her arm to such a point her arm was almost completely white. Then just as quick as it had started, he suddenly let go. His eyelights blinked back on and he stared uncomprehendingly at Muffet sitting across from him. That's when the reality of the situation hit him. The hand which had been squeezing her arm with such strength only a few seconds ago flew to his mouth and he crept backward to the edge of the bed. A fat tear leaked out of the corner of his eye socket before he turned and ran to the bathroom and locked himself inside. Muffet tried to say something, to stop him, but the shock of the situation closed up her throat and made it almost impossible to breathe. To top it off, her right arm was red and puffy and all she could feel were pins and needles.

Something was wrong. It wasn't Sans's fault he lost control of his body or Papyrus's fault that he woke up screaming. With every incident that ocured, Muffet became more and more certain that someone abused them. Children have no right to be treated like toys for insane adults to play with. They are not useless trash to throw away when you get bored with their functions. They are living breathing monsters who never deserved to pay for these crimes. The real villain might still be out there and she ever caught him, let's just say... he would wish he had never been born.

xxxxx

Muffet carried Papyrus downstairs gingerly and set him on a chair. He had fallen asleep again after his ordeal and wasn't showing any signs of waking. However, just in case another nightmare decided to occur, Muffet wanted him close to comfort. She had tried to get Sans out of the bathroom but he acted like he wasn't even in there. She couldn't even hear tell tale signs of breathing or sniffling. No matter how she coaxed him, he refused to even answer and this broke Muffet's heart almost completely. She knew it was irrational and petty to care what these children thought of her, especially since she only met them yesterday, but deep down, it almost felt as if she had found some long lost children she never knew she had. Sighing, she thought back on yesterday and marveled at how it seemed like she had been caring for these boys all her life. She patched up Papyrus's skull with a few bandaids, then, she walked into the kitchen.

It was a mess. She had forgotten to turn the stove off when she ran upstairs and the eggs were burned to the pan. Smoke filled the room, clouding the air with a choking fog. It was a wonder the smoke alarm hadn't gone off yet.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Ah yes, there it was. Muffet scowled and grabbed the nearest dish rag. She hated that cursed fire alarm. It was way too loud for her sensitive hearing but because some of her customers may be hard of hearing, she had been obligated to include an extra loud one in her design. Rushing to turn off the stove, she forgot about her sensitive right arm and flicked it off with her sore appendage. A hiss of pain escaped her lips as she gripped her arm, willing it to cease the throbbing pain. Wincing, she grabbed 4 more dish rags, one for each arm except the hurt one and waved them frantically at the smoke alarm shrieking at the top of its lungs. Finally, the smoke cleared enough for the room to be deemed safe and she sat heavily at her little table. Her rest didn't last long though before she remembered Papyrus. she rushed out to the main room and saw him sleeping peacefully. _Wow.._ Muffet thought to herself. _I didn't think people could actually sleep like rocks!_

She turned back to her ruined kitchen and began to clean up. After about 30 minutes, it was almost as good as new, except for the slight smell of smoke lingering in the air. At once, she mentally slapped herself for her stupidity. _Ack! Of course. I should open up the windows! That'll clear it right up._ She opened the small window in the kitchen then raced to open the few windows in her main room. A blanket from yesterday lay discarded on the floor so Muffet wrapped Papyrus up like a burrito and opened the last couple by the back door. She looked over to the back door, then shrugged her shoulders. Why not open the door too while she was at it? She strode over to the door and grabbed the handle, hesitating because she wasn't sure she was prepared for the blast of cold air. Bracing herself, she pulled open the door.

Sans fell through the doorway shivering, frozen tears cemented to his face.


	3. The Royal Scientist

**I would like to thank you all for the great feedback! If I make mistakes or something doesn't make sense to you, make sure to point it out to me. I am very fond of constructive criticism! Before we move on to this chapter, I would like to point out that for the sake of an interesting story-line Gaster will not be switched with the Riverperson. Anyway, thank you again, I never thought I would get so much positive feedback! Now, time for the actual story!**

Undyne clutched her small backpack to her chest as she stared at the foreboding building in front of her. She couldn't believe that today was the day she would begin work as the new royal scientist. Never would she have dared to dream that something this incredible would ever happen to her, a genius nobody. She hardly had any close friends and usually just hid out in her room surfing the Undernet instead of actually interacting will monsters. The only person who encouraged her to take the job was a small blue ghost named Nabstablook who wanted nothing more than to be the center of attention. Undyne, in one of her impulsive brilliant moments, decided to create a blocky robot body for him to inhabit so he could be more noticeable. They immediately became fast friends and visited each other frequently. One day, Nabstablook (now called Nabstabot due to his new form) was reading the news and came upon an article offering a job as a scientist. He pointed it out right away and encouraged Undyne to check it out. She was nervous but interested at the thought of becoming more adept at the things she loved most and put in an application after careful consideration.

A day later a turtle trudged up to her front step and knocked on her door. Undyne had startled at the noise and wondered who it could be because Nabstabot never visited at this hour. Her surprise was not lessened by the fact the the postman was there to deliver a letter. She dismissed the postman and tore open the envelope, eager to see what the contents were. When she saw the acceptance letter she almost fainted with excitement and fright. Then she actually swooned when she saw that the job she received was actually _The_ Royal Scientist.

Now here she was, pushing open the big door in the side of a cliff face in Hotlands. She was anxious to get out of the terrible heat that was native to Hotlands and sighed at the cool temperature inside. Her scales were now a slight shade of red and sore to the touch. Wincing as the door scraped her arm as it closed, cutting off the rest of the heat, she took a moment to study her surroundings. She had been greeted by a long hallway with a series of identical doors stretching for as far as she could see. Undyne flipped on the light and set her Mew Mew Kissy Cutie bag beside the small pile of boxes that contained all her belongings. From this moment on she was living in this mysterious lab so she could be closer to her royal work, although she didn't know what that would be yet. Nabstabot had promised to come over and help her unpack so she left everything where it was and began to explore.

She poked her head inside the first room and looked around. A creeping feeling of unease invaded her body and Undyne jerked her head out of the office and hurried to the next. Door after door revealed the same oddly creepy sight. She worked her way down the hall until she reached an elevator. She pressed her back up against it looked around with confusion. What had happened here?

Every single room looked like a scientist had been working there not five minutes ago. Chemicals were out and mixtures had stirring sticks resting in them. Papers were strewn everywhere and drawers were open and unorganized. However, the thing that struck her as being unnerving was the fact that every single object and surface in these offices were covered entirely in a thick layer of dust. Suddenly, she felt a presence coming toward her...

Muffet let out a shriek when Sans hit the floor before her. Even though he was a skeleton, she was sure he was turning blue from cold. In a second Papyrus was beside her and covering Sans in the blanket even though he had been unresponsive seconds ago. She slammed the door behind them and turned around frantic to help. Papyrus was curled up next to his brother trying to share body heat. There was no holding off now, she had to contact a doctor. Without a word she rushed into the kitchen and picked up the phone, quickly dialing the number of a doctor she knew from school and trusted with her life. He answered sleepily from the other end.

"Hey.. What's up? I usually like to sleep in on Sunday.. What time is it?"

"NO TIME! Oh, I mean 12 something, but I _need help!_ Come over now!"

His voice sharpened and he answered, "Stay calm Muffet. Are you hurt?"

"I'll explain when you get here Aaron! Please I need you _now_ ".

"Yes, yes. I'm coming as fast as I can. Medical emergency?"

"Very much so."

And with that he hung up. Muffet felt a burst of gratitude for her horse friend who would do anything for her. She ran upstairs and grabbed all the bedding from both beds then dashed back down to the skeletons. She brought them over to Sans and tried to wrap him up, but Papyrus snatched the blankets away and wrapped Sans up himself. A cold glint of resentment lay hard set into his eyes whenever he looked at Muffet and the way he turned his body away from her suggested that he blamed her for what had happened to his brother. Muffet closed all the windows ashamedly and turned the heaters on full blast in the hopes that Sans would warm up soon. Right after he had been wrapped up tight in the blankets he lost consciousness so he couldn't tell them anything about how he was feeling and what had happened so both the skeleton and the spider were working on instinct. Muffet sat down a couple chairs away from them and waited anxiously for the doctor to arrive.

Three minutes later a knock sounded on the front door of the shop. Muffet was out of her chair in an instant and threw open the door to reveal Aaron. He was well muscled horse with a mermaid tail instead of back legs. He had the hoofs of a horse which would normally make precision work difficult, however he hadn't let that stop him from following his dreams. He had become quite adept at using his magic to hold and maneuver medical tools with incredible dexterity. Aaron had shared the same high school as Muffet and they had been great friends ever since even with his prolonged absence when he attended medical school.

The second he saw the skeleton boys, his face darkened and became emotionless. However, Muffet knew his well enough to see the repressed flurry of sensations attacking his senses. Muffet quickly pulled him aside and explained the situation. In her embarrassment, however, she left out the part where she scared Sans with her impulsive comforting because she felt the whole situation was her fault. She stared pleadingly at him and urged him to help with her eyes. Without hesitation, Aaron agreed and slowly moved to the two skeletons on the floor.

Aaron's eyes were soft and kind as he glanced slowly at Papyrus. "Why, hello there." He spoke with a gentle yet slightly husky voice. Papyrus stared silently back at him and stayed put which was a good sign. At least he wasn't trying to run away. "Do you mind if I help your brother? I can make him better."

Papyrus swayed back and forth like he was trying to decide what to say. Finally, he turned to face Aaron and offered his brother to him with a barely noticeable nod. Gently, the horse monster took Sans and laid him out before him. Muffet turned her attention away from the doctor for the time being and focused on Papyrus. He was watching the proceedings with careful scrutinization and a worried look. Suddenly, he caught her stare and returned it but with more ferocity. Blame and disgust were written all over his face and he narrowed his eyes before returning them to Sans. Muffet sat down heavily on a chair and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't blame Papyrus. Even she thought this whole ordeal was her fault, and she felt all the worse for it. All her worries piled up on her soul, making it feel heavy and weak. Never once had she felt so responsible for such a horrible thing in her life. Just as she thought that, a nagging feeling pulled at her already heavy soul, as if she was forgetting something. Muffet focused hard on the feeling but right before she caught hold of the answer, a terrible headache blossomed in her skull forcing her to give up pursuit.

Just then, Aaron called for her. Muffet rubbed her forehead tiredly and came over. She did not fail to see the subtle shift in Papyrus's movement as he came the tiniest bit closer to his brother. "He had hypothermia." Aaron explained. "There's nothing much you can do to treat this other than keeping him warm. One thing I can't explain is how tired he is, he is experiencing extreme magic fatigue. I have some medicine for that, at least." He reached into his medical bag and brought out a jar full of powder. Papyrus stiffened slightly as Aaron explained how to mix it with Sans' food and looked extremely uneasy with the concept of 'medicine'. "Hey, Papyrus. Can you watch your brother for a moment?" Aaron asked politely. Papyrus nodded dutifully and gathered Sans up in his arms again. While he was distracted, Aaron pulled me aside.

"These skeletons have endured extreme physical abuse. I haven't gotten a good look at Papyrus yet, but I can tell that he's the same as his brother." The doctor sighed.

"What exactly do you mean by 'physical abuse'?" Muffet answered, getting angrier by the second.

"They have pockmarks in their bones from numerous needle wounds. All over their body. And that's not the worst of it. It looks as if their bones were broken multiple times in the same places deliberately. Whoever hurt them meant to do it." He said with a grim face.

 **Hey guys! I have to apologize to all my fans. (Can't believe I actually have those now!) I hate when people leave their stories for prolonged amounts of time and I try not to do that. However, I've been working through some things and school is not giving me a break anytime soon. I'll try to upload another chapter very soon to make it up to you guys and show you I'm not actually dead. Thanks so much for the positive feedback I've been getting recently and please feel free to keep sending me tips!  
**

 **Also, check out ChillyIce's story "A Lesson in Civility". I've been reading it lately and it is _really_ good!**


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